The Toledo War of 1835-1836
Introduction
This little known, but very important, "war" shaped the borders of the states of
Michigan and Ohio, with the final income granting Toledo, MI and what is now the upper corner
of Northwest Ohio to Ohio. Michigan did not leave empty handed, with the then-territory of
Michigan being granted what now is known as the Upper Peninsula of the state.
1775 maps showing the relative positions
The Original Ohio and Michigan Borders
In 1787, the young country of the
Unites States began expanding westward.
With the passing of the Northwest Ordinance,
the Northwest Territory was created. Based
on this new legislation, five states were slated
to be created in the new territory that
encompasses the present states of Ohio,
Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and
part of Minnesota. These new states were to
be non-slave holding states.
As the Territory of Ohio prepared to
join the young United State of America,
borders for the new state had to be drawn
up. In 1802, Congress drafted these borders
for the soon to be created state of Ohio. In
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accordance with the Northwest Ordinance, the northern border of Ohio was to be a line that
could be drawn due east from the southernmost point of Lake Michigan.
Later in November of 1802, a constitution was drafted for the new state of Ohio and
included an additional section pertaining to the northern border of the state. This additional
addendum added the area that includes Toledo and most of Northwest Ohio. (For reference
purposed, Miami River = Maumee River, Great Miami River = Ohio River in the SW corner of
Ohio).
When the state of Ohio was officially recognized on February 19, 1803, the original
border demarcations, not the border passed by the people of Ohio, were concluded to be the
official borders of the state.
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The Territory of Michigan was officially formed on January 11, 1805. At the time of the
formation of the territory, the borders of the territory were also determined. These borders
created an overlapping area in what is now Northwest Ohio which both Ohio and the territory
of Michigan assumed to have legal jurisdiction.
Determining the True State Borders
As would be expected, the newly formed state of Ohio took umbrage with the new
territory extending into land that they believed was their own.
After several years of lobbying, a survey was called for by the territory of Michigan in
1812 to determine the northern border of the state of Ohio. Unfortunately, due to the renewed
conflict with Great Britain that resulted in the War of 1812, the survey would not be completed
for five years. After completion of the this survey, which ironically was called for by Governor
Cass of the Michigan Territory and named the Harris Line after surveyor William Harris, Harris
found that the border was in line with the wishes of Ohio. The survey was quickly ratified by the
state legislature in January of 1818.
In 1819, the federal government stepped in and called for its own survey, which was to
be perfected by John Fulton at the bequest of President Monroe. This survey found the border
to be in line with the original state borders of the state of Ohio and the Northwest Ordinance of
1787. With the acceptance of the Fulton Line by President Monroe, the border of Ohio officially
remained intact and unchanged until the showdown in 1835.
The Land in Question
It is possible that Congress failed to act in the determination of the border because the
area in question was mostly inhabited by Ohioans or persons from the newly created territory
of Michigan. The land in question contained valuable natural resources, such as the natural gas
that would power the future Toledo Glass Industry, as well as valuable farmland and an
important western port on Lake Erie. The land, as will be mentioned later in the exhibit, was
also perfectly suited for an extension of the Miami and Erie Canals.
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Conflict Begins to Boil
The original settlers of Toledo (which had been known by names such as Swan Creek,
Port Lawrence, and Vistula) were originally subject to the laws of the territory of Michigan. As
the city of Toledo continued to grow, boosted by canal work sponsored by the state of Ohio
throughout the area, the city began to notice that its continued growth was tied to the city
being a part of the state of Ohio.
Michigan, under Governor Cass, began the statehood process in late 1833, which
brought the border issue back to Congress. Congress quickly sent out two surveyors to
determine the actual border of the two states. Even though the conclusion of this survey
concluded that the Fulton Line was the correct border of the two states, Congress still
maintained the Harris Line as the official border.
Delegates of the young states of Illinois and Indiana supported Ohio in their border
claim, mostly due to the fact that they too failed to follow the Harris Line/border guidelines
from the Northwest Ordinance and feared losing land to the new state of Michigan or the
Wisconsin Territory. Even though the state was in line with all of the requirements for
statehood, with the support of these states, as well as the support of President Jackson and
Ohio, Michigan's first statehood push was denied. Former President John Quincy Adams, now a
Senator from the state of Massachusetts, on the blocking of Michigan's state hood stated:
"Never in the course of my life have I known a controversy of which all the right so clearly on
one side and all the power so overwhelmingly on the other."
In 1834, with the support of a majority of Toledoans, a petition was forwarded to
Governor Lucas urging for the boundary question to be resolved and for the land to become
part of Ohio.
The new Governor of the Michigan Territory, 22 year old Steven Mason, tried to
formally negotiate a solution to the crisis in late 1834, but his request was denied by the Lucas
government who believed that this was an issue between Ohio and the United States, not Ohio
and Michigan.
Lucas supported the idea of taking the Toledo Strip (as the area was now called) for
Ohio and quickly passed legislation claiming the land belonging to the state of Ohio and created
Lucas County. Mason and Michigan acted quickly to this denial by passing the Pains and Penalty
Act. The new act called for all persons in the area in question to maintain loyalty to the
Michigan Territory under the threat of "severe penalties," which included a $1000 fine and up
to five years in prison. To provide teeth to this new legislation, Governor Mason appointed
Brigadier General Joseph Brown to defend the area, but not start a conflict, against any Ohio
actions that violated the new law. Lucas also sent Ohio forces, now stationed in Perrysburg, just
south of Toledo, and Mason moved 1000 Michigan soldiers further south into Toledo.
Battles of the Toledo War
Although one person was injured and one fatality (a horse belonging to Lewis E. Bailey
of Michigan) during the "war," there was one recognized "battle." That being said, the Battle of
Phillips Corner was not much of a battle by traditional standards.
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Even with full knowledge of growing hostility due to Mason's continued enforcement of the
Pains and penalties Act, in March of 1835, Governor Lucas instructed a group of men, led by Uri
Seely, of Geauga county; Jonathan Taylor, of Licking, and John Patterson, of Adams County to
remark the northern border of the state according to the Harris Line. The project began on April
2, the day after Michigan elections in the Toledo area (Ohio would have theirs four days later),
and set out to mark what Ohio deemed to be the border.
On April 25, a small group of men from Adrian, MI met up with the "line-runners" from
Ohio, intent on enforcing the Pains and penalties Act. When the line-runners tried to flee arrest,
warning shots were fired over the heads. All of the line-runners were arrested and taken to
nearby Tecumseh, but the three men commissioned by Lucas escaped and reported back to
him in nearby Perrysburg.
The only injury sustained during the "war" occurred in mid-July (date is disputed) when
Monroe County Deputy Sheriff Joseph Wood was stabbed by Two Stickney (son of Major
Benjamin Stickney and brother of One Stickney) during an attempted arrest in the Toledo Strip.
Governor Mason immediately ordered the arrest of Two Stickney. During another attempted
arrest, a large force tried to again arrest the Two, who escaped again. In this attempt, the posse
was able to arrest the elder Stickney, as well as four other Ohioans. Mason would demand the
extradition of Stickney to Michigan, but Lucas would not comply.
National Involvement and the End of the Toledo War
After discussing the Battle of Phillips Corner with President Jackson by letter, Lucas
dispatched Noah H. Swayne, William Allen, and David T. Disney to confer with the President in
person. Jackson, with his Presidency already on shaky ground, wanted an end to this skirmish as
soon as possible, preferably with no federal government involvement.
Even with the Battle of Phillips Corner and the Stickney incident, Lucas ordered the
continuation of the remarking of the border line, and again, Mason did not relent. The one
major difference this time was that the federal government was now firmly on Ohio's side and
Mason was removed from office at the end of August, with Judge Charles Schuler of
Pennsylvania installed in his place. When Schuler passed on the offer, John Horner of Virginia
was placed into the position instead. In a show of support from the Michigan people, Mason
was elected the governor of the territory and worked alongside Horner. After the crisis ended,
Horner moved on to the Wisconsin Territory.
Michigan would continue to act as if it was a state, electing Lucius Lyon and John Norvell
Senators and Issac Crary Representative for the House. Although none of them would be
allowed to vote in their respective chambers, they were allowed to stay as observers.
With the border line completed in November of 1835, Congress now took on the border
dispute. In early 1836, Norvell and Crary informed Mason that the only way that the state could
gain statehood was to end the border conflict and turn over the Toledo Strip and accept most
of what is now the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. On June 15, 1836, President Jackson signed
into law the Northern Ohio Boundary Bill, which made the offer of the Upper Peninsula for the
Toledo Strip official.
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In late September in Ann Arbor, the delegation met to discuss ratification of the
compromise. The first attempt at passing the compromise failed. After four days of discussion
in October, the legislature accepted the proposal. The second attempt to pass the compromise
was convened on December 14, 1836, with the delegates voting to accept the compromise
proposal. The Frostbitten Convention, as it was called, had officially ended the Toledo War.
The area that is currently Northwest Ohio was officially given to the state of Ohio on December
27, 1836. On January 26, 1837, exactly two years to the day that Governor Mason signed the
Enabling Act, Jackson made good on his end of the compromise and admitted Michigan into the
United States as a state.
Importance of the Toledo War
What would have the future of the states of Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin been like if
area of Northwest Ohio had been left with the state of Michigan? Could the city of Detroit rise
to as much prominence in the Michigan economy if the port city of Toledo were still a Michigan
city? Would the spike in population and wealth in the city of Toledo that took place around the
Glass and Gas booms of the late 19th century have occurred if it were a Michigan city and, thus,
not receiving state of Ohio money for its canals?
What of West Central Ohio? Although this area would have been populated sooner or
later, without the canal projects that pushed travelers further south, the growth of these cities
might not have occurred until the advancement of the railroad towards the end of the century
or the automobile in the early part of the next.
And what would have come of northern Wisconsin if it had the massive natural
resources of the Upper Peninsula that were given away to state of Michigan before Wisconsin
had a national voice? It is possible that the northern part of Michigan would not have grown as
it has if the valuable resources of the area were in Wisconsin control.
As much as this "War" was a skirmish over a relatively small tract of land, if the outcome
had been different, it would have drastically altered the future of these three states and
possible even more of the surrounding area.
Bibliography
Galloway, Tod. The Ohio-Michigan Boundary Line Dispute Ohio Archaeological and Historical
Quarterly. Volume 1. 1896. Pg. 199-231.
George, Sis. Mary Karl. The Rise and Fall of Toledo...Michigan. Michigan Historical Society.
Lansing, MI. 1971.
Jones, Tom. The War Between Michigan and Ohio. The Detroit News. May 21, 2000. Access the
article here.
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Mendenhall, T. C. and A. A. Graham. Boundary Line Between Ohio and Indiana, and Between
Ohio and Michigan. Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly. Volume 4. 1896. Pg.
127-199.
Way, W.V. The Facts and Historical Events of the Toledo War of 1835: As Connected with the
First Session of the Court of Common Pleas of Lucas County. Daily Commercial Steam
Book and Job Printing House. Toledo, OH. 1869.
Winter, Nevin O. A History of Northwest Ohio: A Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress and
Development from the First European Exploration of the Maumee and Sandusky Valleys
and the Adjacent Shores of Lake Erie, Down to Present Time. The Lewis Publishing
Group. Chicago. 1917.